Top 20 Craziest Fast Food Menu Items of the Last Decade

Burger King

Let’s kick things off with a bang. In terms of the ingredient list, this Frankenburger is a little excessive, sure, but it’s not nearly as obnoxious as some of the entries we’ll be talking about later. It consists of a beef patty, a crispy chicken fillet, thick cut bacon and your usual toppings - all sandwiched between two dark green sesame seed buns. The real curveball? The fact that, according to Burger King, consuming it is clinically-proven to increase the likelihood of bad dreams.

Pizza Hut

The pizza game is a cutthroat business. In order to stand out from the crowd, you sometimes need to get a little weird. In 2012, however, Pizza Hut threw the definition of “pizza” right out the window. The Crown Crust Pizza, exclusively available in the Middle East, has a crust made of open faced mini cheeseburgers, while the pizza itself is garnished with typical burger toppings. They also made a chicken version, substituting cheeseburgers for chicken fingers!

Little Caesars

Like we were saying… fast food pizza chains are always innovating! Back in 2016, Little Caesars decided to appeal to the nation’s obsession with bacon by taking oh-so-addictive meat and wrapping it around their deep dish pizza. And just in case that wasn’t enough bacon for their customers, the pizza was then garnished with crumbled bacon as well. It sounds hard to hold, but also like a surefire way to get people to eat the crust!

Pizza Hut

Little Caesars tries hard, but Pizza Hut is committed to continuously one upping themselves. In 2014, Pizza Hut Australia unleashed this slice of junk food lover’s heaven. Not only is the crust stuffed with ooey-gooey mozzarella cheese, but then it gets coated with a heavy dose of Doritos. We can only imagine what sort of textural contrast that makes in terms of mouth-feel, and all the Doritos nacho seasoning must make for one seriously flavorful crust.

Jack in the Box

No one ever asked Jack in the Box to reinvent the wheel, but they went ahead and did it anyways! They’re not the first restaurant to deep fry a burger, but they certainly set themselves apart with their approach: crispy fried cheeseburger sticks perfect for dunking! Sadly… those who like their burgers with lettuce and tomato are out of luck. Regardless, 2019 was the year that, for better or worse, Jack started thinking outside the box.

Burger King

Sweet and savory (when properly introduced to one another) can make for a truly divine combination. Mishandle the marriage however, and the results can prove downright inedible. For example, the Bacon Shake from Jack in the Box garnered harsh reviews upon release in 2012. Burger King’s Bacon Sundae seemingly fared a bit better, winning itself some devoted followers, but they still were few and far between. The finished product (a sundae with a strip of bacon shoved into it and more crumbled on top) admittedly lacked finesse.

Pizza Hut

Guess who! Pizza Hut has apparently made it their mandate to establish themselves as the franchise most-committed to pushing the boundaries of good-taste. In 2019, they boldly went where no pizza chain had gone before by partnering up with Kellogg to make giant cheese stuffed Cheez-Its, which are served with marinara sauce for dipping. It sure is something and there’s no mistaking that distinct Cheez-It taste… but it ain’t pizza!

McDonald's

Pumpkin Spice! Pumpkin Spice everywhere! The rule seems to be that if it can be eaten or drunk, it’s only a matter of time until someone comes up with a pumpkin spice version. We thought french fries were safe, but oh how wrong we were! The good folks at McDonald’s Japan decided to celebrate the Halloween season by offering dueling orange and black pumpkin spice sauces to go with fries. We’re not sure who asked for them, but there you have it!

Popeyes

That doesn’t sound so weird. Wait... nevermind. Our brains auto-corrected to “sweet and sour.” And these aren’t just tenders in a sweetened batter - they’re literally cookie-crusted. If your chicken tenders are sweet and there’s no second flavor to balance that out, then we’re not sure what to do with that information. Bold move, Popeyes! According to Delish, kids loved them. Shocking! Oh, they also did cookie dough tenders.

KFC

This one requires very little introduction. Few fast food menu items have made more of a stir over the last decade than this sandwich that replaced bread with fried chicken. When in debuted in 2010, people couldn’t stop talking about it, and it arguably helped usher in the era of over-the-top buzzworthy fast food specialty items. In South Korea, it later got an upgrade in the form of a beef patty to become the Zinger Double Down King. It also received some competition in the form of Taco Bell’s Naked Chicken Chalupa. Yes… that’s a taco shell made of chicken.

KFC

Sorry folks, but to taste the KFC offering that arguably tops the Double Down (at least in terms of absurdity), you’ll need to visit one of their locations in Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, or elsewhere in Asia… and go back in time. So what is a chizza? Exactly what it sounds like! A personal pizza that swaps out a traditional dough base for a piece of fried chicken. You know… because you don’t feel bad enough after eating just pizza or fried chicken.

KFC

Maybe KFC felt bad for leaving North America out of the chizza fun — in 2019, the fast food giant unveiled their next weird and wild fast food creation in Manhattan’s East Village. It consisted of a crispy chicken fillet loaded with cheetos-sauce AND a handful of cheetos. Of course, we need to mention that Taco Bell did it first with their Cheetos stuffed quesadilla a few years earlier. We… don’t know if that’s something to brag about, though.

Sonic

Ouf… just saying it out loud is enough to make your stomach churn. We know that there are some people out there who love pickle juice (be it in savory cocktails or straight), but we prefer that our pickle juice remain contained to a nice juicy pickle. First unveiled in 2018, this nuclear-green beverage certainly isn’t for everyone, but hey… Sonic certainly made headlines! We suspect that morbid curiosity alone was enough to result in healthy initial sales.

Papa John's

This American pizza chain might not have warranted quite as many entries as the competition, but with this one off-the-wall menu item, they jumped straight into the top 10. Think Pizza Hut was bold for putting Doritos on the crust? Papa John covered the entire freaking pizza in Fritos. And they didn’t stop there! Under the Fritos, you’ve got chili sauce and ground beef. Something tells us that you won’t be finishing this pie all by yourself.

Tim Hortons

Hey, who says that American chains get to have all the fun? Canada’s Dunkin Donuts rival, Tim Hortons, showed their willingness to push the limits of specialty coffees when they put out this limited time latte that’s garnished with a sprinkling of buffalo seasoning. Though the company is Canadian in origin, this particular brew was only available in Buffalo, New York. And that’s fine… because this is one limited time offer that most people were happy to miss.

KFC

You think KFC is pushing boundaries of fast food in America? You should see the sort of madness that they’re experimenting with in New Zealand! Chocolate truffles are a popular treat, and would make for a welcome addition to any dessert menu, but chicken flavored truffles are a serious curveball. Why KFC thought this was the perfect treat for Mother’s Day 2017, we’re not sure. As for the truffles, they were only distributed to a few dozen lucky customers via online lottery.

Taco Bell

Alright, who’s ready to get weird? In 2017, Taco Bell briefly tested a unique would-be limited time menu item that took Pop Rocks, made them savory and then invited you to pour them over your burrito. Taco Bell’s version of Pop Rocks weren’t just savory, but actually worked as a kind of alternative to hot sauce, due to the cayenne flavoring. Many fast food menu items promise explosive heat, but this one meant it literally. Sadly, it never got a nationwide release.

Wendy's

This iconic chain only makes one appearance on our list today, but hey… top three ain’t bad! Over the years, Wendy’s has distinguished itself with meat-heavy offerings like the iconic baconator. In 2012, however, one standalone restaurant chose to go rogue and offer a colossal nine-patty burger dubbed the “T-Rex” Burger. It was on the local menu and everything! Once social media found out however, the restaurant was forced to pull the plug by the company. Of course, that’s only added to its notoriety and people continue to order it off-menu.

Taco Bell

Claiming the silver medal for the craziest fast food menu item of the decade is Taco Bell, a company that’s no stranger to wacky limited time offerings. With this however… they really pushed the limits of good taste. For starters, this thing can hardly be called a taco! It’s a breakfast sausage patty covered in scrambled eggs and shredded cheese folded together in a waffle. We’re all for breakfast tacos, but this is madness. Sadly, all good things must come to an end: in 2015, it was replaced by a biscuit taco.

KFC

What can we say, not only does KFC win in terms of the being the chain with the most entries on our list today, but it also claims the top spot. And with this mind-boggling combination of sweet and savory, it’s more than earned it. Dunkin Donuts and Burger King Israel have both played with doughnut as bread replacements in burgers and sandwiches, but there’s just something about fried chicken sandwiched between glazed doughnuts that pushes this to the head of the pack.